Chapter 15
"It's been a long time, Kurosaki Ichigo." Aizen watched him with the familiar smirk on his face.
He knew everything, he feared nothing. He was the law himself, who came to this realm to punish all those who defied him, and it was only time until Soul Society fell to their knees before the power that he unleashed from the Hell itself.
"This ends here, Aizen. No more games. You're done for."
"Such fierce look," Aizen chuckled. "Do you really despise me that much?"
Ichigo glared at him extending his sword forward. His nemesis stood in front of him with an overwhelming air of arrogance, looking down at the destruction his relentless army wrecked all around them.
"Ban Kai!" Aizen's conceit pissed him off to no end. And even if he couldn't beat him, he at least wanted to wipe that obnoxious smirk off of his face.
Just a moment ago, a faint trace of the Arrancar's riatsu appeared in the distance, but it was still unclear where they were. The only thing left to do was to try holding Aizen off as much as possible until they got there.
"That silly Ban Kai again? Haven't you learned that it is useless against me? Nothing will change for you, ryoka boy."
"It does not matter! I will make sure to land a few blows before the reinforcements arrive."
Aizen looked unmoved. "Until the reinforcements arrive you say? How amusing. You place a great deal of trust in the hollows."
"It's not like you could ever understand, since you are not capable of trusting anyone, even your subordinates."
"This is even more interesting than before." Aizen gave a soft laugh, "Who would've thought that Soul Society would sink so low as to ally themselves with the hollows. And what is this trust you are talking about? Trusting someone is the same as depending on them. That is something only the weak would do. I have no use for it."
"I've had enough of your games!" Ichigo yelled. "Getsuga Tensho!"
Aizen easily evaded the blow watching the black ball of lightening crushing into the buildings below and vaporizing monsters scattered around them. The smirk never left his face. Ichigo glared at him angrily. That bastard was just watching him. He was mocking him! And he was even stronger than before with every bit of ruthlessness and lack of regard for anyone who served him.
"What did it take for the Hell to trust you?"
"Trust me? I never told anyone to trust me. All living things follow someone who is more powerful than them. The Hell wanted a taste of my power to make them stronger and they followed me. All kings and gods are born that way. And I am their god, and soon to be yours as well."
"Bullshit! You are nothing but a murderer!"
Ichigo swung his sword launching forward. This time Aizen did not bother dodging it and instead put his weapon in front of him parrying the blow.
"Even though you've gotten a lot stronger, Kurosaki Ichigo, your attacks are sloppy. Are you placing all of your hopes into the Vasto Lord? Do you really believe his power will be your salvation?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You must've noticed Ulquiorra's change after you fought him on the dome. The remains of his mask and the hollow hole are gone. Were you not curious at all why that happened?"
Ichigo stared at him in confusion not certain whether Aizen was serious of just playing his usual mind games. Yet, the distant conversation with Urahara went through his memory. Ulquiorra was not the same after their fight on top of Las Noches, yet nobody ever mentioned the details and Ichigo didn't give it much thought. But he did notice that the former Espada looked different. On the surface he resembled a normal human.
"Are you telling me that Ulquiorra is a Vasto Lord? How is that possible?"
"Vasto Lords are a rare breed of hollows who achieve the highest level or physical, emotional, and mental evolution which hardly any hollow can survive." Aizen said in response. "That is why there are so few of them. Once an Arrancar undergoes significant emotional changes and comes near death, only then can they achieve that metamorphosis. To put it simply, once they manage to gain back their lost hearts under dire circumstances, they evolve into perfection."
Ichigo grinned. "And that's great news for us! If he is so much more powerful, we will definitely defeat you."
"You are as naïve as ever, boy. His power has yet to surpass mine."
"Hurry up, damn you! We've already wasted too much time!" Grimmjow yelled in irritation.
Orihime stumbled trying to catch up to him. Her injuries were mostly healed but it took a bit longer to regenerate her riatsu, which slowed her speed and coordination.
"Kurosaki is already fighting Aizen up ahead. Move it if you want to get there in time!"
Orihime glared at him but did not argue. Grimmjow was as rude as always, but he was right about one thing. The fight was escalating and she needed to get there as soon as possible to finish what she set out to do.
The smoke cleared a little and Orihime was able to make out figures in the distance feeling Ichigo's familiar riatsu. Him and Aizen were up in the air a dozen feet away from each other. She witnessed her friend trying to attack the enemy, but he either dodged or parried every blow.
"You should've used hollowfication before you attacked me. And that's what you're thinking right now, isn't it?" Aizen said. "But even if you did, that would've been a waste."
Ichigo put his hollow mask on and jumped towards Aizen only to land at an empty space. Orihime watched in horror as Aizen quickly materialized behind him extending his arm into Ichigo's direction, yet he just stood there without doing anything. He is taunting him! Trying to intimidate!
"With one quick blow I could've taken out your heart before you had a chance to detect my location. Do you now understand the extent of my power?"
Ichigo did not say anything. He was breathing hard as his mind raced trying to think of a plan. No matter what he did, he couldn't touch him and if this continued they were surely going to lose. He moved his head studying his surroundings, trying to find something he could use. Rukia was a tiny dot down below and he could see the rest of his friends moving towards her. Then he saw Grimmjow running into his direction with Orihime right behind him.
"Don't lose your concentration, Kurosaki Ichigo."
The voice startled him.
"Ulquiorra…" he exhaled with relief. "Did you just get here?"
"I had to fight my way through." Ulquiorra said turning to Aizen, "So, you've finally shown yourself."
"My dear Espada," Aizen responded in a smooth voice, "It has certainly been a while. But are you really planning to fight me?"
"My job is to make sure you do not destroy this realm." Ulquiorra answered coolly, "You are a threat, and I see you as someone who must be annihilated." He extended his arm into his direction. "Cero."
Aizen avoided it. "Why am I a threat? Do you have a grudge against me?" He moved his head to glance down at Orihime, "Inoue Orihime is alive and unharmed. Then why do you hate me?"
Ulquiorra looked down at Orihime then back at him. "You are not worthy of my hate." he answered sonidoing towards him.
Orihime squinted her eyes trying to follow their movements but they were too fast. She was only able to see flashes of light and glimpses of black wings as the two forms collided. Ulquiorra's attacks were quick and precise following Aizen wherever he went. But Aizen was still able to deflect them without much effort.
"I know what you are fighting for." Aizen said parrying another blow. "But attacking me without hatred is useless. You won't be able to protect anything like that."
Ulquiorra did not respond and moved forward again. He knew exactly what Aizen was doing. Mind games and subtle intimidation were his favorite methods to confuse his opponents. He aimed at getting their minds off of the fight, and have them lose concentration. Overpowering wasn't good enough; he also wanted to completely break them down mentally.
After another blow, Ulquiorra jumped backwards and looked around. Ichigo was a few feet away observing the fight. Orihime and everyone else were directly below him. Ulquiorra considered powering up, but Lanza del Relampago was too much of an attack to be used within such a close proximity.
"Keep him busy." he told Ichigo, and then descended to the ground.
Orihime watched Ulquiorra coming towards her. She couldn't read his face but she knew that something was happening that made him change his tactics. He landed in front of her and looked back watching Ichigo fighting Aizen.
"It is time." she heard him say.
"You don't mean…?"
"While Kurosaki is keeping Aizen occupied, concentrate all of your energy on rejecting Hougyoku."
"Couldn't you try anything else against him?" she asked anxiously.
"Using all of my riatsu trying to beat him will take a lot of time and effort. We need to end this quickly."
Orihime swallowed hard. "But what Aizen said, was it true? That you're a Vasto Lord?"
Ulquiorra slowly turned his head to look at her. "It is true."
"Then why can't you make an effort without me killing you?"
"Woman…I did not come here to die. I came here to live, and to make sure that you survive through this as well."
"But what if I-?"
"Not another word." he cut her off. "There are no other options but this. Do it."
Orihime felt her heart sink but she couldn't object to Ulquiorra's frosty gaze. His mind was made up without giving her an option to protest.
Sōten Kisshun, I reject. The tiny fairies flew towards Aizen forming a shield over his chest. Orihime extended her arms forward feeling Hougyoku's power starting to slowly slip away. In just a few minutes it would completely disappear taking part of her heart with it. And even though it went against everything she was fighting for, she still silently prayed that somehow it would not work, that someone would interfere and prevent it from happening.
You are a foolish girl. Orihime gasped at the foreign voice inside her mind. She turned her head trying to find where it was coming from then froze seeing Aizen smiling down at her.
With one swift move he broke the shield returning Hougyoku to its original form. She widened her eyes in surprise as soon as the link broke off. Even her rejection powers were useless against him. What kind of monster was he?
"I am amused by your presumptuousness, Inoue Orihime." he said coming towards her. "Although your powers impress me, they are still not enough."
"You will fight me," Ulquiorra said coming between them. "Before anyone else."
"You are as sharp as ever, Ulquiorra. But do you honestly believe I don't know what you're doing? What is it that you seek by siding with Soul Society? They are just exploiting your power against me. You have nothing to gain by fighting for them."
Ulquiorra did not wait for him to attack and moved toward.
"Or is it because of the girl?" Aizen asked putting his sword forward to deflect the attack. "Despite the so-called 'heart', do you honestly believe a hollow can feel? You were made for battle. Power is your greatest attribute. You will never achieve true strength if you waste it on human emotions."
But Ulquiorra did not react. He remained silent throwing more attacks and following his every move. He knew that Aizen was trying to distract him and throw him off balance, but he refused to yield to his provocation. He might've been right about some things, but Aizen couldn't change his will. And Ulquiorra knew exactly why he fought him and why he had to win.
"That what you want will always be out of your reach, because you will never be human. This heart is just an illusion that makes you weak. Eventually, it will shrivel and die."
"Nonsense," Ulquiorra said, "I will only die if I let you kill me first."
"Dammit, this is not working." Ichigo said as soon as he landed next to Orihime and Grimmjow. "I couldn't even touch the guy, and Ulquiorra doesn't seem to be having much progress either."
"He will be able to injure him if he starts using his Vasto Lord powers. But he won't." Grimmjow replied.
"Why the hell not?"
"Because he will not only take Aizen out, but us as well."
"I tried using rejection, but it did not work." Orihime said. "I don't know what else to do."
"What the hell are you three doing?" Orihime almost jumped at the familiar sneer while Ichigo and Grimmjow calmly turned their heads to look at Nnoitra, Starrk, and the rest of the Arrancar.
"It's about time you got your asses here." Grimmjow grumbled.
"What are you mumbling there? The place was frigging overrun." Nnoitra said.
"We destroyed the majority of Aizen's army, but there are still some left scattered around." Starrk added.
"Shit, if Ulquiorra did not run off as soon as he found out that Aizen showed up, we would've been here sooner."
"Whatever," Grimmjow said, "While you are all standing here, I'll go take a shot at him."
Nnoitra and Starrk exchanged glances and jumped after him, the rest of the Arrancar followed.
"Inoue, you have to try it again." Ichigo turned to her, "Rukia and everyone else are nearby ready to attack. As soon as you see us up there fighting Aizen, try rejecting Hougyoku again while we provide enough distraction."
He didn't wait for her to answer and went up into the air. Orihime looked around seeing Rukia, Ishida, Chad, and Renji following his lead. And a few moments later, all of them were about to engage the enemy.
She closed her eyes, tiredly extending her hands in front of her. But Orihime knew that no matter how much she tried, Aizen would still break through her powers. He was already an unrelenting force back when she stayed in Las Noches, that couldn't be broken by anyone, and right now he was even more terrifying than before.
"Sōten Kisshun," she whispered, mentally aiming her power at the target.
"You persistence amazes me, but what did you plan to accomplish with it?" her eyes flew open at the voice behind her.
She knew who it belonged to but did not dare to turn around and look at him. Even though Orihime could not see him, she could feel him smiling at her that sent shivers down her spine. His mere presence was overwhelming. She couldn't move feeling herself being suffocated.
"Inoue, watch out!" Ichigo yelled coming towards her.
With a slight movement of his sword, Aizen sent a jolt of energy towards him making him jump out of the way.
"I always knew your power was valuable," he continued in a silky voice, "Should I show you how to use it?"
"What are you…?" Orihime asked in alarm as she saw his arm extend towards her, "No!" A second ticked until there was a beam of light coming her way.
Instinctively, she called out her fairies to block the attack, but before the shield appeared Orihime felt something grabbing her and moving her away with an enormous speed. Instantly, she recognized the riatsu without having to lift her head and look at the face of her savior.
Ulquiorra set her down, and stared at Aizen without moving a muscle. What is he waiting for? Orihime thought looking between the two of them. Then she saw Ichigo running into their direction.
"Is everyone alright?" he yelled coming up to them, the rest were right behind him.
"We need to attack him all together." Rukia said. "That way we might overwhelm him."
Her friends nodded and everyone assumed the battle positions.
"You know what to do." Ulquiorra said without bothering to look at the Arrancar.
I wrote chapters 15 and 16 as one continuous long chapter without realizing how long it was. So, I decided to cut it up in half to match the size of the rest of the chapters.